O2 UK to carry the Huawei Ascend W1 in Q1 2013

O2 has announced that they will be carrying Huaweiâ€™s low-end Windows Phone 8 handset, the Ascend W1.

The handset is being touted for its â€œremarkable long-lasting batteryâ€ and â€œincredible Windows Phone 8 experienceâ€ at the â€œright price.â€

With a 1950 mAh battery, the Ascend W1 promises up to 470 hours of standby time, claimed the longest among smartphones in its class.

Huawei Device UK and Ireland Executive Vice President Mark Mitchinson said: â€œWindows Phone 8 is tremendously exciting in terms of both its functionality and the practical benefits it delivers. With the Ascend W1, Huawei has created a product to put this fresh smartphone experience within reach of a much wider audience. O2â€™s record of championing innovative brands and technologies is remarkable, and we are delighted to partner with it for launch of the Ascend W1 in the UK.â€

The Ascend W1 has a 10.5mm slim body and a bright 4-inch IPS LCD 480 x 800 touchscreen with OGS Technology and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragonâ„¢ S4 MSM8230 dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and Adreno 305 GPU. It features a low reflective IPS LCD display with full lamination technology, providing great visibility under any lighting condition. It also has a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, and includes 4GB on-board memory, expandable to 32GB with a micro SD card.

The Ascend W1 will be available from TelefÃ³nica O2 in the UK in blue and ruby-pink. It is expected to be available in Q1 2013. Detail of pricing will be available closer its release.